Calceola sandalina mm 36 Fossil Coral (5)

Fossil coral Calcola sandalina Coral-slipper 12 gr - mm 36 x 31 x 13. Only a piece, as in pictures.

This kind of coral with its characteristic shape belongs to the order Rugosa, characteristic of the Paleozoic and now extinct, also known as Tetracoralla; it is a solitary coral, endowed with a semicircular opercular structure able to close the articulated cavity by means of a hinge, with corallite typically shaped like a slipper, similar to the tip of an oriental sandal.
This genus is an important fossil-stratigraphic guide lived in the lower and middle Devonian, in particular the C. sandalina is typical of the Eifelian, plan whose name derives from the zone of discovery of this specimen.

Rugosa (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1850), also called Tetracoralla, are an extinct order of solitary and colonial corals that were abundant in Middle Ordovician to Late Permian seas. Solitary rugosans (e.g., Caninia, Lophophyllidium, Neozaphrentis, Streptelasma) are often referred to as horn corals because of a unique horn-shaped chamber with a wrinkled, or rugose, wall. Some solitary rugosans reached nearly a meter in length. However, some species of rugose corals could form large colonies (e.g., Lithostrotion). When radiating septa were present, they were usually in multiples of four, hence Tetracoralla in contrast to modern Hexacoralla, colonial polyps generally with sixfold symmetry.
Rugose corals have a skeleton made of calcite that is often fossilized. Like modern corals (Scleractinia), rugose corals were invariably benthic, living on the sea floor or in a reef-framework. Some symbiotic rugose corals were endobionts of Stromatoporoidea, especially in the Silurian period. Although there is no direct proof, it is inferred that these Palaeozoic corals possessed stinging cells to capture prey. They also had tentacles to help them catch prey. Technically they were carnivores, but prey-size was so small they are often referred to as microcarnivores.

Phylum: Cnidaria (Celenterata)
Class: Anthozoa
Subclass: Hexacoralla
Order: Tetracoralla or Rugosa †
Suborders:
Columnariina †
Cystiphyllina †
Streptelasmatina †